A republican politician claims that playing world of warcraft makes his democrat opponent unfit for public office.

Now I'm a gamer and I have been sneered at for "living in a fantasy world" and all that sort of thing, often by religious people.

You know, it's funny to think that while a republican is saying a democrat is unfit for office because she plays a game featuring orcs, dragons, wizards and elves that she does not believe actually exist Willard Romney is running for president while honestly believing in magic underwear that stops bullets and poison, also he believes in a super powerful alien god from the planet kolob and that people can become space gods if they don't drink caffeine and give money to the mormon church.

Gamers get looked down on a lot. Israel won't let people who are into D&D advance in it's military, regarding it as a sign of weak character. Gamers are accused of a lot of things, portrayed negatively on TV, lumpoed in with that psychopath rod farrel, etc.

Now the vast majority of gamers don't literally believe that vampires, orcs, zombies, wizards, dragons, etc actually exist, we just like games using them as characters.

But religious people really, honestly believe in talking serpents, women turning into pillars of salt, rivers turning into blood, that it's righteous to go into a land and murder the inhabitants because voices in someone's head allegedly told them to, talking burning bushes, people being raised from the dead, etc.

They profess to literally believe all that, but they're Ok and gamers who enjoy but do not believe orcs, dragons and wizards exist are somehow defective?

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I wonder why people like that are so down on video games and such whereas they spend hours a week glued to the TV watching totally irrelevant activities like football, baseball, golf, tennis, basketball, and soccer? The amount of time wasted on major sports is very very sad considering the useful things people could be doing. Imagine if they watched half as much of those sports and devoted that time to volunteering instead.

Thought it would be nice to join and participate some, especially as some of the recent topics concern me somewhat personally, as does this one :=)

So here my 2 cents for what it is worth:

Video gaming in general is not condemned by them, In fact they are eagerly adopting the medium as part of their "Get them early" campaign, as can be witnessed, for example, here. http://www.christiancomputergames.net/

But due to the generational gap, in which their target audience occupies the older part, there is little understanding, let alone hands on experience to be expected, As such it is easy to manipulate the topic into a political issue. There seems to be a correlation between violence in video games and teen violence.

As is usually the case, correlation is all that is needed, as causality is rarely looked for and in this case none would be found. It happened with Rock n Roll, it happened with Horror Movies, it probably happened to Mozart or Shakespear.

As with many things, this issue will resolve itself over time. Until then i am in the happy position that all my colleagues and my boss are into gaming.

p.s.: I wrote this twice as i accidently hit some key i shouldnt have. Hope its not a double post. Also please excuse bad grammar, not my native language.

Do you think partly this is because gamers are observed as having a self-indulgent time, enjoying themselves with no unpleasant restrictions? That must feel very irritating to the people who clutch religious rules to their chests such as bacon abstinence, funny underwear or other less enjoyable self-restrictions. After all, why should you have guilt-free fun when my rules say I can't?.

I must be 'Good' and you must be 'Bad' - that way you fit into my distorted view of the world, and I win - which of course is very gratifying to me, so absolutely must be true. If it's lovely and fun and enjoyable, with no evidence of self denial, it must be Bad (see? it says so, right there in my bible).

Otherwise, what's the difference between my fantasy and yours? No no no, you must pay the price of my condemnation for your self-gratifying pleasure. And hey, look, Everyone else - See how I am right and good and holy, and he/she/gamer is thus obviously a weird and perverted sinner! Orcs? Sheesh!